Like Father, Like Daughter
by Bria Tharen
Summary: Takes place during Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn. Han's daughter resurfaces to save Han and Rouge Squadron from being abandoned by Fey'la. SPOILERS FOR DARK FORCE RISING!
1. Unexpected Rescue

_**This takes place at the end of Dark Force Rising, when Fey'lya wants to abandon Rogue Squadron, and withdraw the ship he is in command of, the **_**Quenfis**_**. Abandoning Rogue Squadron would mean the death of Han and Luke. For anyone who has not read the Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn, Fey'lya is a bothan councilor in the New Republic who has his own agenda, and is out to get Han and Leia. Han and Leia are now married, and Leia is pregnant with twins Jacen and Jaina.**_

_**I took a few liberties with this piece- I sort of paraphrased the section of the book, so you get the main idea. I don't want to copyright, but I am dangerously close to stepping on someone's rights. As I said before, the book is called Dark Force Rising, and is the second book in the **_**Thrawn trilogy**_** by Timothy Zahn. I recommend reading the book, which might help you make sense of this piece.**_

"We can't abandon them!" Leia exclaimed. "Both my husband and my brother are vital members of the New Republic, and there twelve of the best X-wing pilots that we can't afford to lose!"

"Leia, you are letting your personal feelings get in the way," Fey'lya responded calmly. He continued to point a blaster at Leia, while turning to speak into a comlink. "Captain Virgilo? How soon will we be ready to go to lightspeed."

"Another minute or two," Virgilio's voice crackled over the comlink.

"As soon as possible," Fey'lya responded.

"Councilor, Han and Luke know a lot of information pertaining to the New Republic," Leia said frantically. "If the Empire were to obtain this knowledge, there would be major setbacks for the New Republic." She cast a desperate glance at Karrade, who did nothing but stare off into space.

"My apologies, Leia, but there is nothing further I can do for them," Fey'lya replied, as if expressing regret for being out of bantha milk for a small child.

As Leia began to despair, a female crewmember stepped forward, and pulled a blaster from her coat, aiming straight at Fey'lya.

"I don't think so, fuzzball," the girl with auburn hair snapped. There was something familiar about her that Leia couldn't seem to place. Had she seen her before, working in the Rebellion? That couldn't be it; Leia saw many faces in the Rebellion, but the few that survived that era were close friends of Leia's. Besides, this girl had to be barely eighteen. There was no way she had been serving in the Rebellion that long. She must be a new recruit, which meant she couldn't possibly have been promoted to the rank of a crewmember serving on the bridge already. Leia reached out, and tried to touch her with the Force. Even the way she shielded her mind from Leia seemed familiar.

Fey'lya seemed irritated at the crewmember who had stepped out of line. "And who might you be?"

"Nobody you'll live long enough to know if you don't revoke that order you just gave," she replied brashly.

He stared at her. "Listen, now is hardly the time to demand a pay raise"-

She cocked her blaster. "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time. Or maybe that fur you're covered with grows into your head as much as it does out. Whatever. Either way, this ship doesn't go to hyperspace without _Rogue Squadron _and-" she sneered, "_Captain _Solo.

Fey'lya's glance flicked to Leia. He was obviously trying to decide whether this was her doing or not, and whether he could stall long enough for the_Quenfis _to jump to hyperspace. The girl guessed his plan, and said, "You've got fifteen seconds, or I make your decision for you." She made a shooting gesture with her blaster.

Fey'lya made a motion of defeat, and set his blaster down. "There's no way what you intend to accomplish will work. I have too many allies"-

"Never tell me the odds. Kick the blaster to me," the crewwoman ordered.

He did so, and she picked it up, all while keeping her blaster trained on Fey'lya.

"Now, you contact Virgin-o or whoever it was you were talking to before, and tell him you've changed your mind. One false step, and I'll blow your furry Bothan head off."

Fey'lya picked up the comlink and turned on the intercom, and announced, "Intruders have taken over the _Quenfis! _I repeat"-

Fey'lya's body dropped to the ground. "_Had _to test that theory, didn't he?" the redhead muttered, walking to the comlink, kicking Fey'lya out of the way. "Attention_ Quenfis _crew members and anyone else who cares to listen. The _Quenfis _is under new command, one that doesn't intend to leave without _Rouge Squadron. _Now Virgino, we won't be going to hyperspace quite yet. Gold Squadron fighters, report to your ships immediately, and depart on my command. Captain Virgino, we need you on the bridge.

"That's Captain _Virgilio_, reporting for duty," Virgilio said from behind. Leia cast a surprised glance in his direction. Aside from the mispronunciation of his name, Virgilio didn't seem resentful of the change in leadership. He simply shrugged, and moved in front of the rebel crewmember to lead the battle.

Leia focused on the redheaded crewwoman. Why had the girl cared enough to put her life on the line for Leia's husband and _Rogue_ _Squadron_? Perhaps she was the wife or girlfriend of one of the pilots? No, she had singled out Han. An ex-girlfriend? Well, that would explain why she said his name so disdainfully. However, it was not in character of most ex-girlfriends to stick their neck out for past lovers, unless they wanted to finish the guy off themselves. Besides, despite the fact that many younger girls found Han attractive, she seemed a little too young for Han. Although she was brave, she couldn't have been any older than eighteen.

As though the girl was listening in on Leia's train of thought, she snapped her head towards Leia. "You Organa?"

Leia was almost taken aback, but regained her voice and said, as regally as she could muster, "Organa-_Solo_."

The girl seemed almost amused. "Right."

In an effort to keep up her diplomatic skills, Leia asked politely, "And to whom do I owe my thanks for the rescue of my husband, brother, and one of the New Republic's best X- wing squads?"

"You can save your thanks. Flattery is lost on me. Besides, they aren't saved yet."

She was testing her patience, Leia knew, but if there was one thing she got from being married to Han, it was dealing with difficult people. "You're very realistic, but I'm hopeful. Who will I have to thank when they are rescued?"

"Doesn't matter who I am. I don't intend to stick around."

_I wouldn't be so sure about that, _Leia thought. Han had stayed- and if he was willing to, there was hope for everyone. At the thought of Han, she smiled. "If you don't tell me your name, I'll have to call you Hanna."

The girl seemed intrigued. "Why Hanna?"

"Because you remind me of my husband, Han."

Everything happened so quickly after that. Enraged, the girl drew her blaster, and pointed it at Leia. "Don't you EVER compare me to that son of a bantha! Just because some smart-mouthed schutta can draw parallels, doesn't mean I'm anything like him!"

Leia remained silent. A girl crazy to attempt to rescue someone she hated might be crazy enough to shoot her on a ship of Republic soldiers. Protectively, she clutched her stomach. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean it to be insulting. I would be proud to be compared to Han, but we're so different."

Resolved, the girl lowered her blaster. "Fine," she said softly. "Just don't mention him again. My name's Jara, by the way."

"Jara," Leia responded. "What a pretty name. Where did it come from?"

Jara replied, "My mom thought she was real clever. She named me after a guy who died when he was about 15. She obviously didn't have very high hopes for me. The guy's name was Jarik, and he died while fighting for the Rebellion," she snorted. "What a waste. But here's a cruel twist of fate- look where I am now."

"You couldn't have picked a better way to meet your demise, that's for sure," Leia said, attempting to sound cheerful.

Jara made an amused sound. All of a sudden, the ship rocked from a blast from a laser cannon, causing Leia to lose her balance.

"Evasive manuver! Zero-one-one! I repeat- Zero-one-one!" Captain Virgilio shouted. Turning to Leia, he said, "The Imperial's backup is here."

"Scramble their sensors. It'll give us a bit of an edge," Leia suggested.

Captain Virgilio nodded, and gave the order. The _Quenfis_ fired on the Star Destroyer with their ion cannons.

Suddenly, a laser fired. This time, however, it came from the _Katana_, and was followed by a spectacular explosion that turned the Star Destroyer into a massive, fiery ball. They had won.


	2. Break In

As Leia, Captain Virgilio, and a very disoriented Fey'lya exited the _Quenfis, _they were surrounded by holonet reporters, all demanding to know what had taken place in the space battle. Fey'lya, of course, played the martyr, telling about how he had been dishonorably removed from command all because of a "simple misunderstanding." He said that the redheaded crewmember should be brought up on charges, while Captain Virgilio should be commemorated for his skill during the attack.

"Councilor Organa-Solo, do you have any idea who this mysterious crewwoman is, who stepped out of the shadows and defied the chain of command?"

Leia worked hard to maintain her composure. "I have no knowledge of her identity. As for her preventing the Republic from a very costly mistake, her compensation has yet to be decided. If you'll excuse me, I need to find my husband."

Protected by a security team, Leia made her way through the throng and out the hanger doors to the med center, where the members of Rogue Squadron were being checked for injuries. Upon seeing her, Han leapt up from the examining table and embraced Leia. Then he kissed her, all the while, the med droid was protesting about how he wasn't finished with Han "I was so worried," Han whispered. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Leia responded. "And you?"

"Same. And the twins?"

"I think so. I suppose I'll need to be examined too, won't I?"

"Count on it," Han said firmly. Then he turned to the droid. "You almost done with me?"

"Yes, Captain. Your vitals appear to be stable, and you only have surface wounds. Your current state proves so."

Leia almost laughed. Han hated it when droids got snappy. "Fine, fine," he said. "So you can take her now?"

"Well, there are other patients that need to be checked out"-

"Oh, but she's next in line," Han said, menacingly.

"Well, alright then," the droid said, offended. "Please sit down on the examining table." He took Leia's pulse, heart rate, and temperature. "You appear to be functioning normally."

"What about the twins?" Leia asked anxiously. "Are they alright?"

"Your unborn children are fine, Councilor. You are free to go."

"Thank you," Han said, guiding Leia out the door. "Are you hungry?"

Come to think of it, she was. "A little bit," she replied. "But Han- we have to get back to make sure Fey'lya doesn't misinform the entire galaxy, not to mention Mon Mothma."

"It can wait. Come on- he won't be able to tear himself away from the reporters anyway."

Reluctantly, Leia allowed Han to guide her to a shuttle. Han told the shuttle driver to take them to one of Leia's favorite restaurants, a place where they specialized in Alderaanian foods. Once they were there, Leia began to recount what had happened on the _Quenfis_. When she was done, Han shook his head in disbelief.

"Unbelieveable. And what was her name?"

"Jara."

Han's head snapped up. "_Jara_? A girl, right?"

Leia nodded sullenly. So he seemed to recognize her- maybe it _was_ an ex after all.

Han stared off thoughtfully. "Well, I knew a Jar_ik_," he said sadly. "But a guy, not a girl. And he died when he was fifteen. You said she looked to be at least eighteen."

A shiver of recognition went down her spine. "Yes… but she mentioned a Jarik. She said she was named after him because…" she paused. "Well, she didn't know why. But her mother named her for a fifteen year old boy who died while fighting for the rebellion."

Han's face darkened. "No kidding," he said sullenly, although he didn't say any more. "Leia… do you know anything else about her? Her last name, her rank?"

"Well, let's see. She didn't tell me her last name- she didn't even want to tell me her first name- and I think she was wearing a stolen uniform." She gave Han a basic description of her appearance. Red hair, brown eyes, about 5'6. She started to say something else, but then she stopped.

"What is it?" Han asked.

"It's nothing. It's just that- well, she kind of reminded me of you. When she refused to tell me her name, I told her I'd have to call her 'Hanna.' She got really mad, and started cursing, saying how I was never to compare her to you, how she was nothing like you." Leia shook her head. "You certainly have a way with people. What did you do to get her all riled up like that?" She smiled ruefully.

Han smiled back. "I knew I'd rub off on you someday, Princess. It was only a matter of time." Frowning, he shook his head. "No, I don't think I know her. I certainly don't remember doing anything to gain such a bitter enemy," he shrugged. "Most people seem to like me."

Leia grinned. "No, I don't understand why either," she teased. "You certainly aren't very likeable."

Han leaned over the table to kiss her, expelling just enough heat to make Leia shiver. His lips were soft on hers, reminding Leia that she was not alone. "Come on- let's go back to the Falcon," he whispered.

Leia pretended to yawn. "I don't know, Han- I've had such a traumatizing day. I've had an awful lot of excitement."

"I'm probably all the excitement you can handle, sweetheart."

Laughing, Han and Leia walked out and caught another shuttle. By the time they got back to the hanger where the _Falcon_ resided, the place was almost completely quiet, except for the soft footsteps they heard coming from the other side of the _Falcon_.

"Chewie? Is that you?" Han called out, grasping Leia's hands.

The footsteps stopped, than ran into the _Falcon_. "Stay out here," Han ordered. "I'm going to see who it is."

"Han"- Leia said, but he cut her off.

"I'll just be a minute," he replied.

"Be careful," she warned. She had almost lost him once today, and wasn't pleased with the thought of endangering his life again.

He grinned at her. "Hey- it's me," he assured her.

"Old habits die hard," Leia muttered. Han was still just as reckless as ever.

He disappeared into the _Falcon._ After a couple of minutes, he still wasn't out, so Leia drew her blaster, and went in after him.

She got as far as the main hold, when she heard an all to familiar voice. "Drop your gun and come in with your hands up," she heard Jara's voice say.

Leia complied, and decided to kick her gun over without being asked, just to instill some trust in Jara. "I was looking for you," Leia said cautiously.

"You know her?" Han asked.

"Yes. Han- this is Jara. The one who kept Fey'lya from leaving you and Rogue Squadron to die."

"No need for formal introduction. I'll be on my way." As Jara moved her blaster from Han to Leia, Han's sharp intake of breath warned Leia that the threat on her life might push him over the edge. _Please don't do anything rash,_ she begged him silently,

Jara gestured with her blaster, indicating that Leia should move out of the doorway. "Over there. By him."

With her hands up, Leia took a step towards Han. "Jara, why did you risk your life for Han?"

Jara laughed. "You're pretty determined to find out, aren't you? Fine. You really want to know? It's because he's my father," Jara said.


	3. Figuring It Out

_**These next two chapters will make the most sense if you've read The Han Solo Trilogy (The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, Rebel Dawn) by A.C. Crispin. For anyone who has not read those books, here is a quick summary:**_

_**The Han Solo Trilogy deals with Han Solo's life before Episode 4. It begins when he is seventeen years old, and stretches over a ten-year time span. In the first book, Han meets Bria Tharen, a slave on the planet Ylesia. Han rescues her, and the two go to Corellia to meet Bria's parents. They do not care for Han, and Han and Bria leave to go to Coruscant, where Han is going to withdraw the funds of his bank account. Something goes wrong, and he nearly gets arrested. Bria and Han spend one last night together, and Han wakes up the next morning to find Bria gone. She left him to join the rebellion. **_

_**About ten years later, Bria approaches Han and asks him to help her in a mission for the rebellion. Han at first blows her off, still quite sore after being dumped ten years prior, but later reconciles and agrees to help her. She and the rebels plan to raid a treasure room, and promise Han and his smuggler friends a cut for helping. Han and Bria get back together, but when they reach the treasure room, the Rebels turn their blasters on the smugglers. Han ad his friends leave mostly empty handed, and all the smugglers hate Han. (This is why Lando calls Han a "double crossing no-good swindler" in Episode 5.)**_

"Your father?" Leia was surprised, with good reason. Han had never mentioned having any children. She shot a glance at him. He was staring at the floor, refusing to meet her eyes. She turned back to Jara. "How- is that possible?"

Jara snorted, and gestured at Leia's bulging stomach. "I assumed you knew. You see, when a man and a woman meet"-

"She gets it," Han snapped. "What she was referring to was the other half of your parentage."

Jara raised her eyebrows. "You don't know?"

"Should I? I didn't even know I had a child until now."

Jara nodded sadly. "Figures," she muttered. "That schutta lied."

Cautiously, Leia asked, "Who is your mother?"

Jara looked at her, then at Han. "Bria. Bria Tharen."

***

Han sucked in a breath. Memories came flooding back. A beautiful Corellian woman, a beach, a hotel on Coruscant, desperation, a letter… then seeing her again, years later. She had seduced him- or maybe he had seduced her- and she had betrayed him.

"That's not possible," Han replied. "She died months after we"- he glanced at Leia. "You know."

Jara snorted. "Spare me the details. Well, what about the first time?"

Han's eyes widened. "You mean"-

"I was already alive and kicking when you hooked up the second time? When she left for Nar Shaddaa, she told me that you abandoned her to go join the Imperial Navy. That we were only holding you back."

"That's ridiculous! _She _was the one who left! _She_ abandoned _me_! I was devastated"- He stopped. Leia was walking out of the main hold. "Leia!"

Then he heard a click. "Stop right there. If I have to listen to this, so do you."

"Jara"- something caught in Han's throat. "Don't do that."

Something flickered in her eyes. She lowered her blaster. "Forget it. At least they can have a father." Then she put the blaster in her holster, and walked out of the _Falcon_.


	4. Abandoned Again

**NOTE: This chapter will make the most sense if you have read The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton. In the Courtship of Princess Leia, a very wealthy system called Hapes offers to join the New Republic. Leia is very excited because of all the resources the Hapan planets will be able to offer in order to aid the New Republic, but there is a catch: Leia must marry the Hapan Prince Isolder. Han is devastated, and enters a high-stakes sabacc game. He wins the planet Dathomir, which he intends to use to impress Leia, but it turns out that the planet is controlled by a warlord. Han kidnaps Leia and takes her to Dathomir. Luke and Isolder go to Dathomir as well. In the end, Leia and Han end up getting married, and Isolder marries a native girl from Dathomir. **

Jara sat in a cafe on Coruscant, drinking a cup of kaffe. Now that she had fulfilled her mission, she wasn't sure what to do anymore. There was no way she'd be able to get any sort of government job; Fey'lya would make sure of that.

She had grown up on Corellia, where her mother had left her. Bria had left her with the Corellian branch of the resistance, but to Jara, that was abandonment. Everyone affiliated with the rebels were too busy making plans to overthrow the Empire, and they didn't like having her underfoot. Most of them resented having a child to worry about, but once Bria was promoted to commander, there wasn't anything they could do about it. Jace Paol had always been nice to her, but then he'd gotten promoted, and she never heard from him again. _I wonder what happened to him… _

When she was ten years old, she ran away. Caught up in the excitement of the destruction of the first Death Star, none of the Rebels bothered to look for her. She had made her way to a restaurant with a "Help Wanted" sign, and had asked to talk to the owner. Naturally, they scoffed at her, but she proved herself. The restaurant's waitress droid malfunctioned, and nearly dumped a customer's food all over the floor. Her quick reflexes from living on the streets saved the dishes, and impressed the restaurant's owner. He'd offered her the job on the spot.

The owner, Wris Duckar, was a cunning Devaronian with an eye for an opportunity. He saw Jara not as a valued employee, but as a dancer who could satisfy the desires of human males that the Twi'lek dancers could not. However, for the time being, he agreed to hire her on as a waitress.

When she was fourteen, there was a change in government. She heard about the defeat of the Empire, and how the Rebels had fought bravely. She hadn't cared much- until she heard about the brave exploits of General Solo on Endor. She figured she would wait a couple of years, save for a shuttle ticket, and make her way to Coruscant. Anything was better than Corellia, where the rich were always rich and the poor where always poor.

Things didn't exactly go as planned. She started getting leers from some of the human- and non-human- customers. She wasn't the only one who noticed. Wris Duckar decided it was finally time to harvest Jara's true potential. He asked her to start dancing in the restaurant, for double the pay.

The dancing paid off, and by the time she was sixteen, she had earned enough for a shuttle off the planet. She figured she would take everything she had and walk, but when she told Wris, he reacted… badly. He threatened to enslave her if she tried to leave, and the conversation ended with a shoot-out in the restaurant. Jara was very happy to find out that the restaurant, which not only had gotten a bad reputation among many of its regulars, but had to be closed for repairs.

She caught the next shuttle to Coruscant, and found herself in exactly the same place she had been six years ago- broke and jobless. Things were a little different though, because she didn't have to go back into a career as a waitress/dancer, although she would have been welcomed by some of the seedier places on Coruscant. Instead, she became a speeder driver, which was the perfect occupation because it meant she got to come in contact with a few important government officials. She even drove Threkin Horm to a few New Republic council meetings, including the one that sparked the Hapes scandal.

She had driven him to the New Reception Hall, where he had ordered her to wait outside. For several hours she waited, until a stream of people erupted from the New Reception Hall. Most of them were talking about Isolder and his proposal to Princess Leia Organa. Jara dismissed it as just another celebrity scandal for the holodroids to report on. When Threkin Horm got back into the speeder, he was very excited, and spoke frantically into his comlink about the "potential this had for the New Republic."

"Princess Leia is sure to accept this offer," he had said. "Just make sure that General Solo _doesn't get in the way_."

This peaked Jara's interest, but Threkin said no more. For weeks, there were heated debates on whether the princess would choose the prince or Solo. Jara was secretly rooting for Isolder, as she thought Solo deserved all the bad luck he got.

Jara had figured that Solo would step down, just as he had where she was involved, but she was shocked to hear that Solo had kidnapped Organa, and taken her to a planet called Dathomir. There had been rumors of Isolder following them to Dathomir, but she doubted it- it wasn't like a prince to get his hands dirty.

Jara was shocked when, weeks later, it was announced that the princess would be marrying Solo. Jara snuck into their wedding, and caught her first glimpse of her father.

_He looks so happy, _she had thought. She believed that this man should be denied happiness for abandoning her, but at the same time, she wanted to be happy for him and the princess. And Leia was gorgeous- much prettier than Bria. Jara almost didn't blame Solo for leaving her mother. Almost.

Not long after her eighteenth birthday, the Solos were in the news again. This time, it was because Leia Organa-Solo was pregnant- with twins! Jara was furious. He hadn't even bothered to try and find her, yet he wanted more kids. She told herself that she only felt bad for the twins, and that she hadn't needed him anyway. She resolved to stay away from him, and not interfere with his new family.

Yet somehow, not long after her eighteenth birthday, Jara found herself at a New Republic recruiting station. She told herself that she was only enlisting because the speeder driving business was down, and she was short on cash. She got her uniform, and bribed an officer to trade uniforms with her. She then requested to be transferred to the _Quenfis._

Jara shook her head, thinking of her most recent confrontation with the Solos. She had figured it would be a surprise to his wife, but Solo seemed to have genuinely been unaware of her existance. Bria had _lied_.

Her mother had come back to Corellia from time to time- twice in Jara's lifetime. The last time she'd seen her mother, Jara was nine years old. On her way to Nar Shaddaa, Bria had stopped at the Corellian resistance outpost to discuss plans for "obtaining funds vital to the cause of the rebellion." Bria had stopped to see Jara for a half hour.

Nine year old Jara sat in a chair outside the conference room. She could hear her mother's voice inside, so persuasive, so resolved. Jara was sure her mother could charm a Tusken Raider if she set her mind to it.

"Bria, are you certain this is a good idea?" General Torbul said. "Getting mixed up with smugglers is only going to complicate this mission."

"_General, I am certain that we will be able to use the smugglers in this mission," Bria said. _

"_For what cost? Smugglers are notorious for working to benefit only themselves, Bria. I don't think they will be able to see the greater good our mission is working to achieve without thinking of themselves first," the general responded._

"_You see, General," Bria's voice took on a more devious tone, "there is a _certain _smuggler that I think will be only too willing to help us. And if we can convince him, I'm certain that he will be able to assure the involvement of his friends."_

_General Torbul hesitated. "Alright, Bria. You have my permission to conduct this mission as you see fit. I'm warning you though- when you reach the treasure room, be careful that the smugglers don't help themselves."_

_Jara could tell just by listening that her mother was pleased. "We'll take heavy artillery, general."_

_The general chuckled. "Dismissed, commander."_

_Jara looked up to see her mother walking through the door. She was tall and proud, but could easily fake submission and innocence if the situation called for it. She almost felt bad for the poor smuggler Bria would undoubtedly charm into aiding her cause. _

"_Well, Jara," Bria said, barely looking at her own daughter. "Looks like I'm off on another mission."_

_Jara nodded. "Have fun."_

_Bria shook her head. "Jara, you are just a girl. You don't understand the Rebellion. You take for granted that we are fighting for you- for your freedom!"_

No, you're fighting for yourself- for your own glory! _Jara thought. Bria loved the rush, and the power the Resistance had given her. Bria never neglected any of those responsibilities, but when it came to Jara, well, that was the one responsibility Bria was willing to let slide._

Focus, Jara, _she thought. _You've got something important to ask- don't distract her. _Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Who is Han Solo?"_

_Bria glared at her sharply. "Where did you hear that name?"_

_Jara gulped. "Oh, I just heard a couple of Rebels mention him." The truth was, she had begged Jace Paol, her mother's second-in-command, to tell her who her father was. She didn't want to get him in trouble, though. He was going on this next mission, and he would have to put up with Bria._

_She snorted. "No one important, Jara."_

_Jara would not accept this. "He's my dad, isn't he?"_

_Bria's head snapped up. Her eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. She sighed dramatically. "Yes, Jara, he is your father. After he found out I was pregnant, he didn't want to stick around. He wanted to join the Imperial Navy, and he said a kid would just hold him back. I, of course, only wanted the best for you, so I let him leave, and took care of you myself." She said this although it had been some great burden. _

Yeah, you took care of me all right,_ Jara thought. "What happened to him?" She asked._

_Bria's tone got edgy. "They kicked him out of the Imperial Navy for stealing supplies. That Bantha dung wasn't even good enough for the Imps. That's why I fight in the Rebellion. For you, Jara." With that, her mother stood up, and walked away from Jara without looking back. Abandoned again._

***

Back in the café on Coruscant, Jara downed the rest of her kaffe. She was about to leave, when a man donning the Corellian bloodstripe appeared next to her table.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked.


End file.
